It’s been a while. So here, have a book review!

Yes it has been a while since we’ve posted something over here.  RL has been ongoing and stuff has been happening, but I’ve decided it’s high time I wrote something over here.  So, like the title says, here, have a book review!

 

THE OPPORTUNIST by Tarryn Fisher

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

Lori actually put me on to this book.  She saw that the author, Tarryn Fisher, was born in South Africa and naturally that made her think of me.  I immediately downloaded the book onto my kindle and settled down for a relaxing read.  Which is not really what I got.This book is, at its foundations, about trying to recapture a lost love.  But there is really so much more than this going on underneath the surface.  The two main characters, Olivia and Caleb, both have secrets.  And they love each other fiercely.

From the first paragraph, I was both interested and repelled by the protagonist, Olivia Kaspen.  She comes across as predatory, not considering what the effect of her actions on others will be.  I found myself disliking her more and more and marvelling at her deceptions, yet I could also empathise with her. And I didn’t feel so bad about not liking her because she doesn’t like herself much either.  However, Olivia is a strong, independent woman.  She knows herself, knows her strengths and weaknesses, and she knows what she wants.  And what she wants is Caleb.  She recognises the bad parts of her character, and she accepts them.  In actual fact, she is rather self-deprecating but she never lets that stop her.  So, all through my dislike of her, I found myself admiring Olivia as well.

There were, in fact, only two characters in the entire book that I did like and one of them betrayed us all in the end. But the characters were real, however dislikable they were and you found yourself understanding their actions even if you did not agree with them.  It was easy to put yourself in their shoes, and it was easy to see what would push you to do the very things they did, even though you found those actions despicable.  I think this is the true talent of Tarryn Fisher.  Really, people are capable of doing anything in the right circumstances, and Ms Fisher shows us how easy it is to be nudged into behaving in ways we would never believe ourselves capable of.

Without giving away any spoilers, I will say that the ending was very unsatisfactory.  Although, I suppose that this really does give away a lot.  I have a problem with endings where everything is wrong.  I battle to accept that people make wrong choices for the right reasons and the thought that they have to live with those choices when they are wrong, wrong, wrong slays me.  I get so upset imaging people living the wrong lives, forsaking the lives that were supposed to be theirs.  Because you only get one chance at life and they’ve done it WRONG!  However, this is only book one in a series, and I believe that the ending of The Opportunist is not really the ending for the characters.  I have read the second book in the series, and am anxiously awaiting the third.  There is a larger story arc here that is being explored and I can’t wait to see how it all ends.  I will remain optimistic for these characters that I may not like, but kind of love.

I can’t say that I liked this book. And I’m not sure ‘enjoyed’ is the right sentiment either. I did read it within a 24 hour period.  I gave up on sleep in order to find out what happened next, and I guess that really says it all.  So while I maybe didn’t like or enjoy this book, and I perhaps didn’t like the characters, the story gripped me and I kept wanting to read more. And really, what more do you want from a book. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys real stories about real people.  And anyone who is a sucker for punishment 😉

 

The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan

This book is a novel about a relationship that is told in definitions. It sounds strange, I know, but it’s a beautiful piece of art. What I would give for a man to communicate in such profound and moving ways as author David Levithan… and he’s so brief! (We’d never get along, because I’m so wordy!)

Anyway, I found out about this book on Twitter first… and I’m going to honestly say, there’s not much more I can mention about it that will make you want to read it. Mr. Levithan says something compelling in each of his tweets in 140 characters or less. Let me give you recent some examples:

control, n.: Some play relationships like a rivalry, gathering points and allies. Winner takes all, and it doesn’t mean a thing.

or

conscience, n.: It’s not about how you sleep at night; it’s the days that should be harder when you fail someone you love.

and

cold, adj.: You leave the room right after sex, and I lie there and shiver, feeling used and awful.

or this one

codependency, n.: How strange that society tells us we must pair off, then defines this word as harmful.

and

aperture, n.: The things closest to our eyes are the hardest to keep in focus.

or

charade, n.: Three word phrase. First word “I.” Third word “you.” Despite your movements, second word unclear.

And see, those are just letters A-C!! He posts more entries a couple times a week from the twitter account, but the book itself tells a nice story of love, devotion, conflict, betrayal, borderline alcoholism… lots of drama, which I love.

Typically, Nikki and I will post about things we’ve both read, but this is a recommendation for her that she can add to her criz-azy list that she’s compiling.

Nikki’s book list

I really think she’ll enjoy it– and you might, too! It’s a quick read that will stick with you.